Abstract
Policymakers, experts and the general public heavily rely on the data that are being reported in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Daily data releases on confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths provide information on the course of the pandemic.
Highlights
Policymakers, experts and the general public heavily rely on the data that are being reported in the context of the coronavirus pandemic
One can encounter at least three concepts that measure the deadliness of SARS-CoV-2: the case fatality rate (CFR), the infection fatality rate (IFR) and the mortality rate (MR)
The mortality rate of SARSCoV-2 is computed by dividing the total number of confirmed deaths by COVID-19 that have occurred in a given location during a certain period of time by the total population present in the same location during the same time period
Summary
Policymakers, experts and the general public heavily rely on the data that are being reported in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Data releases on confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths provide information on the course of the pandemic. Beyond explaining some of the current pitfalls, this paper will serve as a more general caveat regarding the interpretation of data in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. One can encounter at least three concepts that measure the deadliness of SARS-CoV-2: the case fatality rate (CFR), the infection fatality rate (IFR) and the mortality rate (MR). The IFR divides the total number of confirmed deaths by COVID-19 by the total number of infections with SARS-CoV-2. The (crude) mortality rate (or death rate) of SARSCoV-2 is computed by dividing the total number of confirmed deaths by COVID-19 that have occurred in a given location during a certain period of time by the total population present in the same location during the same time period. The MR is more appropriately used as a retrospective measure of the damage done in terms of lives lost after a pandemic has run its course
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